I Am The Game's Villain Chapter 617 617: Jack Rengel, Eye of Xenos Arvatra

A tense, suffocating silence filled the air as Roda and I stared at the figure standing before us.

I loosened my grip on her arm, my body reacting before my mind could catch up. Every instinct I had was screaming—no, begging to run. Now.

Whoever this guy was… he wasn't just strong.

He was a monster.

A terrifying, insurmountable presence pressed down on like a mountain. Even if I used both the Sloth and Wrath Sins, even if I threw every trick I had at him, I wouldn't stand a chance. I felt that truth settle deep in my bones like frost.

Then he spoke.

"Well, well… I was wondering what happened to my dear little dusa."

His voice was odd—distorted and flat, like a recording played back on broken speakers. No emotion, no cadence. Just hollow words.

And then, slowly, he raised his hand.

In it dangled a head—dusa's head—her eyes closed forever and her neck slick with blood that still dripped in slow, glistening trails onto the ground.

"She's dead, I see," he muttered, gazing at the severed head with an air of mock lancholy. "Such a sha."

But even as he spoke those words, there was a twisted delight hidden behind them. He sounded almost… pleased.

And then his attention shifted. His gaze fell directly on us.

"Now then," he said, "who do we have here?"

Roda and I instinctively straightened, shoulders tight, spines stiff. Our instincts were in overdrive.

"Amael Idea Olphean," he said, locking eyes with . "And… an intruder from a foreign tiline. Alone. And you managed to kill dusa and destroy her lab all by yourself? That's impressive."

He actually started clapping.

Slow claps that echoed far too loud in the stillness.

I didn't respond. My hand moved to my weapon by reflex, and Trinity Nihil glead as I drew it.

"Who the hell are you?" I asked, trying to keep my voice from trembling.

"Oh, where are my manners?" he replied with a soft chuckle. He brought one hand to his chest and offered a theatrical little bow. "You may call Jack Rengel. I'm one of the Eyes of the Great Lord Xenos Arvatra."

My grip on Trinity Nihil tightened.

"You're with the Iris Project, then?" I asked coldly.

"Indeed. I was saved—resurrected, in fact—by Lord Xenos three hundred years ago. A miracle of sorts. Sadly, he was later slain by that wretched King of Celesta by cowardly ans."

He pressed his palm to his forehead sorrowfully.

He was talking about the Third Great Holy War.

Behind , Roda leaned in, grasping my arm as she whispered.

"Edward… he's one of the Iris Project's leaders," she muttered, eyes wide with fear. "A monster made by Xenos an 'Eye,' he called them. We need to leave—now."

There was no mistaking the danger in her voice.

Jack Rengel. The na didn't ring any imdiate bells—but the title 'Eyes of Xenos' did. I vaguely rembered it from the Third Ga. So late-ga content maybe, one of the major antagonists of the Iris Project.

"What do you want?" I asked, forcing the words out even as every nerve in my body scread at to run.

Running would've been easy—maybe even smart. But sothing told that if we bolted now, we'd never make it out alive. So instead, I tried to stall, to get so answers. If I knew what he was after, maybe I could work with it—or around it.

Jack tilted his head slowly, his flickering barely visibly eyes staring at us.

"What do I want…?" He repeated, tapping a gloved finger to his chin. "Well, this would be the perfect chance to get my hands on Samael's Vessel… and the Sin of Wrath, of course. Oh! And recover the Sin of Sloth while we're at it—"

Suddenly, he froze mid-sentence.

His body jolted, and he stepped back sharply, his posture unraveling in an instant. His eyes widened, and for the first ti, he looked… afraid.

"Hiii!!" He squealed, backing up like a cornered animal. "That was scary… Very, very scary."

He lifted both hands in surrender, wide-eyed and trembling—though the performance was so exaggerated, I couldn't tell if he was mocking soone or genuinely terrified. But then his gaze shifted back to , and this ti, there was respect in it. Fearful respect.

"I would never," he said, "offend a Princess of Khaos."

Sothing—or soone—had just threatened him from inside . But it wasn't Cleenah. She was oddly calm, silent, almost smug in a way that told she knew Jack wouldn't lay a finger on so it was the other one.

Still, the mont passed as quickly as it ca.

Jack composed himself, straightening his coat with a tug and brushing imaginary dust off his shoulder.

"But I would still like to recover the Sin of Sloth," he said politely, as if we were bartering over a misplaced library book. "Would you be so kind, Amael Olphean, as to return it to us?"

I clenched my fists. If it were up to , I'd rip these damn Sins out of my body and chuck them into the abyss. They were a curse, not a gift. But there was no way—absolutely no way—I was handing them over to the psychos from the Iris Project.

"Go to hell," I said coldly.

Jack blinked.

Then, his smile dropped like a mask.

"Hell? Already been."

In the blink of an eye, he vanished.

A heartbeat later, I felt a shift behind .

He was there.

No ti to think.

I yanked Roda behind and turned to face him, but sothing hit before he even moved. A weight—an overwhelming, suffocating pressure—slamd down on .

My stomach twisted. I felt like vomiting. My limbs locked up, vision darkening at the edges. My knees buckled and I crashed to the ground, barely able to breathe.

Killing intent.

Not just ordinary bloodlust. This was sothing far worse. Purer. Refined.

It was like drowning in tar.

"E–Edward!" Roda gasped, still standing sohow. She reached out to , trying to help, but I managed to weakly push her away.

"Run," I muttered weakly.

My head tilted up—barely—and that's when I saw it. A dark green aura swirling around Jack, thick and malevolent like a stormcloud given form.

I knew that level of mana.

I'd felt it before, from Duncan. From Lazarus.

This Jack Rengel…

He was a Demigod.

"I will, however take this intriguing young woman. She seems to have the Prophetess's ability. Quite valuable."

He extended a hand toward Roda, his movent a blur—faster than lightning.

But her eyes flashed white, and with a sudden surge of motion, she twisted away just in ti.

She dodged him.

Barely.

But Jack caught up to her in the blink of an eye.

Roda spun around, drawing her sword in one fluid motion. But she never got the chance to swing. Jack simply waved his hand—and in an instant, an invisible force slamd into her with crushing weight. She was sent flying crashing into the earth. Blood splattered across the ground, and a searing pain lanced through my arm as a crimson spray burst from where she'd landed.

She didn't get back up.

Her body lay twisted, motionless, blood leaking from her wounds in thick rivulets, staining the dirt beneath her a dark red.

"R—Roda…" My voice cracked. I gritted my teeth, forcing my legs to stand despite the crushing pressure that made every breath feel like fire.

Jack chuckled. "Hm. Missed one Prophetess during the Utopian War, but it seems luck has brought another~" He smiled as he walked forward, hand outstretched toward Roda like he was picking up a coin.

"Anathemas Fire."

My fingers dug into the soil. Anger burned through as I summoned the purple flas, channeling every ounce of rage I had into my fist. Then I punched the ground.

-BOOOM!

The ground cracked beneath and a searing pillar of purple fire exploded outward, drawing a blazing line straight toward Jack with great speed.

Jack turned lazily toward the oncoming fire. He didn't flinch. Didn't even raise a hand. And before it could reach him, sothing—sothing unseen—shimred briefly around him. The flas evaporated the instant they touched it, snuffed out like candles in the wind.

Of course, I never expected it to hurt him.

It wasn't an attack. It was a distraction.

Behind , a mirror shimred into existence, rippling like water. Roda stumbled out of it and dropped to her knees, barely conscious.

Jack tilted his head, intrigued. "Now that's interesting," he said. "So that's how you beat Durathiel, huh? No… you used your Sin, didn't you? Show . Show your Sin, Amael—no…" His eyes glead. "Nyrel Loyster. The Sin of Wrath belongs to you, doesn't it?"

He started walking toward us calmly.

I wiped the blood from my lips and stood between him and Roda.

"E–Edward… leave ," she whispered weakly, clutching at my sleeve.

I gently pried her fingers away and stepped forward, locking eyes with Jack. The heat in my chest was overwhelming now.

He laughed softly. "Now that's the look I wanted to see. That gaze… yes. That suits the Holder of Wrath."

I raised Trinity Nihil.

The blade trembled in my hands as I summoned Wrath. The sword itself rebelled, rejecting the Sin as if it feared the power it was being asked to contain. But I forced it—gripped the hilt tighter, steadying the quake.

Purple particles began to rise around like burning embers in a storm. The air vibrated with raw emotion. With Wrath.

I could see Jack's eyes squinting in pure delight seeing it.

At the sa mont, I summoned Vysindra's Fire—max output.

The mana surged through imdiately. My entire body scread in protest, wounds splitting open again with fresh agony, but I gritted my teeth and powered through it. I had no ti for pain.

My vision blurred. The world spun.

But I forced my legs forward and launched myself at Jack in a burst of speed, Trinity Nihil raised high, Wrath burning in every cell.

-BOOOOOM!!

The sword struck—but Jack didn't budge. He didn't even twitch.

A massive force rippled outward as my blade clashed against an unseen barrier around him. It cracked the air itself, but he stood there like a statue.

What the hell is that?

How is he resisting this? Even with Trinity Nihil empowered by Wrath itself, he didn't seem bothered?

I clenched the hilt tighter, knuckles white, and roared. A surge of mana exploded from within like a geyser, a towering pillar of mana bursting into the sky, blasting wind and energy in every direction.

-BOOOOOM!!

The earth beneath us shattered. Cracks spiderwebbed out from my feet. Even the air around us trembled, distorted by the sheer force. Yet despite all that... we were locked in place. Neither of us moved an inch.

Cleenah… I need you help.

[]

Help . Please.

-BOOOOOOM!!!

A flash of light exploded from my blade—followed by a thunderous crack.

Jack's eyes widened, just for a second. And then he was gone, flung backward at terrifying speed, the barrier around him shattering into shards—and with it, his right arm ripped clean off.

I didn't stop.

"Rings of Vysindra!"

I raised Trinity Nihil to the heavens, summoning an enormous ball of blazing purple fire that ford above us like a second sun. It burned so hot the sky itself rippled. Six radiant rings of fla swirled around it, orbiting slowly at first... then faster and faster.

And then I fed Wrath into it.

The fire roared in response, crackling and snarling with barely contained rage.

Jack slowly got to his feet. His arm... regenerated instantly.

He looked up, saw the incoming fireball, and then calmly raised his hand.

And just like that, sothing horrifying appeared.

A single, massive green eye manifested in the sky above him. Easily three ters across. Just floating there—watching.

What the hell… is that?

Every hair on my body stood on end. Just looking at it made my skin crawl. That thing wasn't natural—it was ancient. Malevolent.

I hurled the fireball without hesitation.

But as soon as it neared him, the green eye pulsed once—and the fireball vanished.

No explosion. No smoke. No resistance.

It simply ceased to exist.

What the hell!?

Jack chuckled, amused. "That was quite a hit earlier. I'm impressed. You actually hurt . Makes wonder… who's helping you, hmm?"

Then—he vanished.

He reappeared right in front of .

Before I could react, his hand was around my throat.

-BAM!!

He slamd into the ground with crushing force.

"Aghh—!"

I felt sothing crack deep inside.

I tried to get up, clawing at the dirt, struggling to breathe—but then the green eye floated directly above .

Its eerie iris locked onto .

And I froze.

Completely paralyzed.

I couldn't move. Couldn't breathe. Couldn't even think straight.

I struggled to move. My whole body ached, pinned down by that monstrous gaze—but I forced myself to look.

Jack was walking toward Roda, who was barely managing to stay on his feet. My fists clenched instinctively.

"M–Move…!" I shouted through gritted teeth, forcing every fiber of my being to respond.

And then—

-WHOOSH!

Sothing massive and blue streaked past striking Jack head-on with thunderous force.

-BAM!!

Jack was launched backward, crashing into the dirt in a cloud of dust and debris.

The green eye above us imdiately swiveled—focusing on the source of the impact.

It was Vina.

Not in her human form—this was her true form. Towering, serpentine, and majestic. Her deep blue scales shimred with mana.

Without hesitation, Vina surged forward in a blinding dash and slamd herself into the eye.

The Eye recoiled, shuddering from the blow—but it wasn't damaged. Not really. It rely flickered with irritation.

But Vina didn't wait.

Using that split-second opening, she darted toward us, scooping both and Roda up and launched into the sky.

The wind struck past us.

"An Enigma Beast…? Wonderful," Jack's voice rang out suddenly.

"...!" I froze.

Because sohow—sohow—he was already there.

Standing mid-air right in front of us.

Vina halted instantly. Her slit eyes narrowed, staring down the enemy. Behind Jack, the green eye hovered silently again—watching.

And then—sothing stirred the air.

Delicate, shimring particles began to float around us like falling stardust. They coalesced in front of , swirling gently into a glowing form.

Cleenah.

She appeared without sound, her feet hovering off the air. Her long glossy green hair flowed and floated while her eyes locked coldly on Jack.

When Jack saw her—his eyes widened in shock. Without hesitation, he stepped back. Fast.

The green eye behind him also retreated, flickering uneasily. Its massive iris trembled, and for a mont… its eyelid twitched as if it were about to close.

Cleenah didn't move.

She didn't need to.

Her gaze alone froze the world around her.

"Levina," she spoke quietly. "Leave."

Without hesitation, Vina turned sharply and sped away.

The last thing I saw before turning my head was Cleenah—floating there in the sky, facing down both a smirking Jack and that accursed Eye.

I slumped against Vina's scaled back, my vision swimming, heart pounding.

Thank you, Cleenah.